An Open Letter To Teresa Earnhardt

Dear Teresa Earnhardt,

I know that the recent internet rumors that you're searching for a major investor to buy into Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company you run, have been refuted. I also know that when Max Siegel, the president of your company, refuted those rumors, he also meant that the rumors that you were getting out of the team altogether were untrue.

Those rumors stated that you would retain all rights to the licensing of the name and likeness of your late husband, Dale Earnhardt, upon whose fan base you originally built your company.

From your Craftsman Truck Series teams with Ron Hornaday, up to the Busch Series with Hornaday and Dale Earnhardt Jr., all the way up to Winston Cup with Earnhardt Jr., Steve Park, and Michael Waltrip, the company was built upon your late husband's vision, and you were left in charge after his tragic death.

However, in recent years your company has been run into the ground by a series of poor decisions, the first of which being your refusal to meet your stepson's demands.

You know as well as the rest of us that your late husband built that company so his kids would have something to rely on after he was gone.

You refused to give them their share.

Now, your stepson has cashed in, moving to the Hendrick Motorsports program and bringing legions of fans with him. His sister went along with him.

At this point, the only Earnhardt child with anything to bring to the company is Kerry, and you won't even give him a chance for more than one race in one of your cars.

Times have changed.

The Winston Cup is now the Sprint Cup, and the Busch Series is now the Nationwide Series. Your company no longer runs a Nationwide Series program, although it is supposed to start one up again in 2009 for development drivers Trevor Bayne and Jeffrey Earnhardt.

This is a far cry from the days that Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove for your company, when winning Nationwide races was a piece of cake.

Your Sprint Cup team is in disarray. Paul Menard in the No. 15 Menards Chevrolet is about the only sure thing anymore and only because he brings family sponsorship. Regan Smith's No. 01 Chevrolets can't find a sponsor. 

Aric Almirola's No. 8 Chevrolets may lose their U.S. Army backing for next season, and Martin Truex Jr., the only driver worth anything in your stable right now, wants out of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for next year.

Besides that, Mark Martin, one of the most respected drivers in the garage and the man behind the wheel of the famed No. 8 this year, followed your stepson to Hendrick Motorsports, searching for one last chance to win a championship.

Teresa, what is going on?

Your company has savvy managers—you and Siegel—but neither of you have been able to turn the sinking ship that is your company around. The Garage Mahal—your team's massive garage/store/museum—is becoming more of the latter than the former, as is your entire company itself.

You may have about 10 years left with the major merchandising programs you license your late husband's name and likeness to, but once young fans who never saw Dale Earnhardt drive start becoming the major purchasers, you will have fewer and fewer sales.

Think about it. You don't see a Richard Petty trailer at the track 16 years after his retirement, do you?

While wandering the souvenir trailers at Loudon, I stopped at your Mark Martin/Aric Almirola trailer before any other, being a Martin fan since the early days of my youth. I was appalled to see you charge $10 for a 1:64-scale die-cast, while most of the other vendors were charging $5 or $6.

I have bought Martin cars every year since I was two, but I may have to hope the JR Motorsports has a few of his Nationwide cars in stock when Sprint Cup comes back in September because that's just ridiculous.

Where does that money go?

Teresa, let's be honest. There are legitimate reasons why Sprint Cup fans hate you. There are many of those legitimate reasons. It's inevitable that you will never be accepted by the majority of the sport's fans again for the actions you have taken within your company.

I believe it's time for you to do the right thing and step down.

Take the licensing rights to your late husband. Milk all you can out of them for the next 10-15 years. But leave the company your late husband built for his children alone.

Although you may have run them all out of the house, perhaps another owner can turn things around in a sufficient enough manner to bring them back to the nest.

Don't continue to make things worse.

Signed,

A former fan